2.0 was released worldwide in both 3D and conventional format on 29 November 2018, along with its dubbed versions in Telugu and Hindi. It received generally positive reviews upon release. Critics particularly praised the film's visual effects, performances of Rajinikanth and Kumar, and social message; the pace and screenplay received criticism. It earned ₹117.34 crore (US$16 million) worldwide on its first day, which was the second highest ever for an Indian film. The film crossed ₹400 crore (US$56 million) in its opening weekend to be the highest-grossing film worldwide for that week. As of 18 December 2018, 2.0 has earned more than ₹750 crore, and is the sixth highest-grossing Indian film of all time.

Plot

A man, surrounded by birds, hangs himself to death at a cell tower. Elsewhere, the scientist Vaseegaran introduces Nila, his new humanoid robot, to a group of students. A little later, a student's smartphone starts flying all on a sudden, exhibiting avian characteristics. Before long, cell phones all over Tamil Nadu begin to fly away, leaving the state in chaos. At an emergency council meeting initiated by the government, Vaseegaran enunciates that it is beyond conventional science to fight what he considers a fifth force, and proposes reinstating Chitti, which was dismantled in 2010. But Dhinendra Bohra, who lost his father, Professor Bohra, to Chitti's anger,[a] opposes, and the council decides to seek help from the military, thereby vetoing Vaseegaran's proposal. However, the military is attacked by a swarm of mobile phones.

The growing stream of cell phones leave havoc in its path, killing a mobile phone wholesaler Jayanth Kumar, a transmission tower owner Ranjit Lulla and the state's telecom minister Vairamurthy. To prevent further damage, Vijay Kumar, the Home Minister, unofficially gives Vaseegaran permission to rebuild Chitti. Chitti traces the mobile phones, which have taken the form of a giant crow, and they fight, during which Chitti's battery power is depleted and it starts searching for a power source amongst three huge signal transmitters. To Chitti's surprise, the crow is unable to penetrate the field of transmitters and suffers damage while attempting to do so.

Vaseegaran then learns from Chitti that the bird is powered by the aura of a human being, which exudes negative energy. The radiation from the antennae of such signal transmitters and auras of other living organisms are positively charged while those of the dead are negatively charged, allowing the parabolic transmitters to repel the bird. Had it entered the electromagnetic field produced by the transmitters, the radiation from the antennae would neutralise the bird, preventing it from reassembling. With this in mind, Vaseegaran replicates a smaller version of those transmitters and sets off to an abandoned house in Tirukalukundram with Chitti and Nila to destroy the bird. When the neutralisation is about 50 percent complete, the bird weakens and then reassembles into a humanoid entity that calls itself Pakshi Rajan.

Pakshi Rajan used to be an ornithologist who owned the now abandoned house where birds would come and live with him. Gradually, high-frequency radiation from the newly set up cell towers start killing the birds due to the rapid growth of mobile phone industries. Pakshi then visits Jayanth Kumar, Ranjit Lulla and the telecom minister in order to request them to stop their unjust and unlawful activities but in vain. He also organises conferences and protests against the exorbitant use of cell phones for the favour of birds, yet no one supports him. Ultimately, all his birds die, and a distraught Pakshi Rajan hangs himself to death from a cell tower. His life energy, along with that of numerous dead birds, combine together to form an aura that manipulates mobile phones into any form through electromagnetic radiation.

Chitti empathises with Pakshi, but asserts that he should not kill people. Pakshi Rajan declines, and attacks him. Chitti reactivates the transmitters and neutralises Pakshi, storing his energy in a containment circuit. This feat helps Vaseegaran's cause and the Home Minister legalises Chitti. He also orders that robots like Chitti be made for the Indian Army. Jealous of Chitti's resurgence, Dhinendra sneaks into the Artificial Intelligence Research and Development (AIRD) Institute and frees Pakshi's aura from the containment circuit. The aura enters Vaseegaran, enabling Pakshi Rajan to possess his body and attack humans. Chitti hesitates to kill him, as it would mean killing Vaseegaran too. Taking advantage of this, Pakshi disassembles Chitti.

Nila takes Chitti back to the lab and rebuilds its body, replacing its microchip with the red chip created by Bohra[a], which results in Chitti's violent configuration, version 2.0, being in control. Nila constrains it from harming anyone but Pakshi Rajan. Chitti then creates more versions of its likeness. Meanwhile, Pakshi takes over a crowded football stadium and exposes Dhinendra to radiation, killing him. Chitti, along with its army of robots, arrives and confronts him, resulting in a battle between the two. However, its battery drains, and it rushes to the nearest power station. During this time, microbots resembling Chitti, called as Kutty version 3.0, arrive mounted on white pigeons, distract Pakshi Rajan and separate his aura from Vaseegaran. The microbots lead Pakshi's aura to the signal transmission site, where he is eliminated. Vaseegaran recovers in hospital and tells Vijay Kumar, who comes to see him, that he feels Pakshi Rajan was a virtuous person who became a victim of the corrupt society. He also suggests that everyone should limit the use of phones, and conserve the lives of birds as much as possible. Chitti, now restored to its inceptive version, begins a relationship with Nila, to which Vaseegaran gives his consent.

In a mid-credits scene, Sana asks Vaseegaran over the phone about the probability of mobile phones flying again. Immediately, Vaseegaran's mobile flies out of his hand and morphs into Kutty, saying, "I am your grandson".

Cast

Dr. Vaseegaran is a great scientist who created a sophisticated robot in his likeness with a desire to commission it into the Indian Army. He introduced the robot as Chitti. Chitti is an advanced "andro-humanoid" robot. It was designed with a speed capacity of 1 Terahertz (Hz) and a memory capacity of 1 Zettabyte. Previously[a], it fell in love with Vaseegaran's fiancée, Sana and deliberately failed an evaluation conducted by the Indian Army. Greatly enraged by its actions, Vaseegaran literally chopped Chitti into pieces and had it thrown down a garbage disposal site. It was eventually rediscovered by Dr. Bohra who upgraded it to version 2.0 and converted it into a ruthless killing machine. However, Vaseegaran managed to defeat and stop Chitti. Since it caused so much damage and destruction to the nation, it was de-activated and dismantled by order of the court. After its reactivation in this film, Chitti, in its reloaded version 2.0, creates the microbot Kutty version 3.0, which can transform into a mobile phone.

An ornithologist, who owned a sanctuary for birds. He notifies people that the radiation from cell towers are gradually killing the birds. He reports it to Jayanth, the telecommunications minister and Ranjit but they disregard the matter intentionally. Deeply frustrated, Pakshi hangs himself to death from a cell tower. Now his aura, combined with the negative energy of deceased birds, can control cell phones with electromagnetic radiation, which happens to be considered a fifth force. Pakshi's Tamil and Telugu voice is dubbed by Jayaprakash.[9]

A domestic and feminine humanoid robot created by Dr. Vaseegaran. The full form of "Nila" is "Nice, Intelligent, Lovely Assistant". This robot is meant to be a friend, helper, and caretaker. It can drive, perform forensic analysis, jump walls and disable electronic alarms. Later, it falls in love with Chitti. Nila's Tamil and Telugu voice is dubbed by Raveena Ravi.[10]

A scientist, the son of Dr. Bohra[a]. His father was killed by Chitti version 2.0. After his father's death, he assumes the robot to be Vaseegaran's alter-ego and wishes to take revenge on him. He happens to be the first person to voice against the reinstatement of Chitti in the government meeting. Later, he also becomes jealous of Chitti's resurgence and, sneaking into the AIRD Institute, he frees Pakshi's aura from the containment circuit.

Production

Development

The commercial success of Enthiran (2010) prompted the makers of the film to immediately consider making a sequel. By March 2011, the original film's cinematographer, Rathnavelu, revealed that initial pre-production work on a sequel had begun with the same technical team.[14][15]S. Shankar, the director of Enthiran, moved on to work on Nanban (2012) and I (2015) and planned to reunite with the same producers as the original was released, with Shankar revealing that he was unsure if the film "will happen at all" during an interview in 2014.[16] While finishing the production of I, Shankar drafted the scripts of three more feature films, including a sequel to Enthiran.[16]

Pre-production work for the film had reportedly started in June 2015 with Lyca Productions deciding to finance the project. Along with Shankar and Rajinikanth, composer A. R. Rahman and editor Anthony remained on the development team for the sequel, while Jeyamohan was added to write the screenplay. Shankar also began briefing the film's art director T. Muthuraj and visual effects supervisor V. Srinivas Mohan about their involvement in the film.[17][18] Shankar had initially inquired about K. V. Anand's availability. This was before Nirav Shah joined the technical team as a cinematographer in mid-2015 and visited specialist studios in the United States to research filming methods for 3D shoots.[19][20][21]

Jeyamohan finished work on the script of the film in September 2015 and revealed that the story would be a direct continuation of the 2010 film, with filming only set to start following the completion of Rajinikanth's commitments in Kabali (2016). The original film's screenplay writer, Madhan Karky, helped Jeyamohan on some of the more technical dialogue in the script.[22][23] While the film does include characters and references to events from its predecessor, it is primarily a standalone sequel.[24] A press release coinciding with the start of the film's shoot also revealed that Resul Pookutty would handle sound designing, Legacy Effects would take care of animatronics work, and Mary E. Vogt would design special costumes. Stunt choreographer Kenny Bates and visual effects specialists John Hughes and Walt Jones were also signed to work on the film.[25] Unadjusted for inflation, 2.0 is so far the most expensive Indian film.[5]

Casting

Amy Jackson plays Nila, a feminine humanoid robot.

Shankar held initial discussions with Kamal Haasan, Aamir Khan, and then Vikram about portraying a further role, though none of the three actors signed on to appear in the film.[26][27] Subsequently, the team held talks with Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role, who agreed to work on the film for a record remuneration.[28][29][30] The makers then opted against signing Schwarzenegger, though there have been conflicting reasons regarding this decision.[b] British actress Amy Jackson signed on to work on the film in October 2015 and visited Los Angeles as a part of the team's pre-production work.[33] In late November 2015, Rajinikanth also travelled to Los Angeles to meet the film's producers and complete costume trials and initial motion capture effects work for the film.[34][35] After further negotiations with actors including Hrithik Roshan and Neil Nitin Mukesh, the makers signed on Akshay Kumar to portray the role for which Schwarzenegger was initially considered.[36]

Sudhanshu Pandey joined the cast of the film during March 2016 and revealed that he would portray a scientist who is the son of Professor Bohra from the original film. Adil Hussain began working on the film in July 2016, and, as a part of his role, undertook extensive research into the life of news reporters.[37] In September 2016, Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Shajohn confirmed that he had tried out for a role in the film after Shankar was impressed with his performance in Drishyam and had signed him on.[13]

Filming

An official launch event was to be held on 12 December 2015, coinciding with Rajinikanth's birthday. However, the team chose to avoid publicity as a result of the 2015 South Indian floods.[38] Instead, the team held a low key launch event at the AVM Studios on 7 December, with the director and the producers in attendance. Titled 2.0, the film then began its first scheduled shooting on 16 December 2015 at a set erected in the outskirts of Chennai at EVP World.[39][40] On the first day of the shoot, a scene featuring Rajinikanth and several dwarf actors was shot at the erected set, while the team's principal cast and crew also assembled for a photo shoot.[41] The first schedule of the film, consisting of Rajinikanth and Amy Jackson, continued in Chennai until 30 December 2015.[42] The team then worked on a second schedule throughout the middle of January 2016 in Chennai and shot scenes featuring Rajinikanth at Mohan Studios and by Madras Boat Club.[43] Shankar continued filming portions not involving the lead actors throughout February 2016 in Chennai, with a car chase sequence shot in Royapettah.[44] Another schedule to shoot a song was initially set to be held at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia but was canceled due to bad weather, and the team opted not to travel to the country.[45]

Akshay began shooting for the film in Chennai at the beginning of March 2016 and took part in a schedule held at the EVP Film City studio in Chennai. A set of a mobile phone store was built on site, while night scenes involving robotic equipment and military tanks were also canned.[46] The team subsequently moved to Delhi in order to hold a forty-five-day schedule, continuing on from the same scenes with military tanks that were shot in Chennai.[47] Subsequently, the team filmed sequences at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium depicting an Indian Super League match between Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC, with hundreds of junior artists recruited to act as supporters. Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan visited the film's set at the stadium with the media reporting that the pair were set to make cameo appearances, though the claim was later denied by the team.[48][49] Rajinikanth then joined the team in Delhi at the end of March to continue shooting for the project, with the climax sequences being filmed. Action scenes incorporating robotic equipment were filmed throughout early April in Delhi, with cinematographer Nirav Shah using helicams to capture sequences involving the three lead actors.[50][51]

Another ten-day schedule took place in May 2016 in Chennai, with scenes being shot at the EVP Film City studios as well as at The Forum Vijaya shopping mall.[52] During the shoot at the studios, the visual effects designer Srinivas Mohan digitally converted a green screen sequence into locations including the Red Fort and the Parliament from Delhi after the team were unable to secure shooting permission there.[53] By June 2016, Shankar revealed that after one hundred days of shooting, scenes including the climax and two major action sequences had been completed and that the film was fifty per cent complete.[54]Adil Hussain and Kalabhavan Shajohn began their work in the film during July 2016 in Chennai, while the rest of the cast were given an extended break after Rajinikanth fell ill.[55][56] Production continued throughout August and early September 2016 without the lead actors in Saligramam in Chennai, where the team shot action sequences of luxury cars being blown up.[57] Following his illness and subsequent recovery, Rajinikanth returned to the sets of the film in early October after a break of close to four months. He shot for scenes alongside Amy Jackson in Chennai, where he was featured fighting huge birds created using animatronic technology with actor Riyaz Khan also joining the cast. Soon after the schedule finished in early October, Shankar revealed that the film was two-thirds complete, following one hundred and fifty days of shooting.[58][59]

Another schedule began in early November at EVP Film City in Chennai with all of the lead cast and continued throughout the month.[60] All filming was completed except for one song that featured a set erected in Chennai. Jackson was given ten days of practice by choreographer Bosco. Filming was completed in August 2017.[61][62][63] Principal photography was concluded on 22 October 2017.[64]

In 2015, during pre-production phase of the film, it was announced that A. R. Rahman would be composing the soundtrack and original score of 2.0.

In an interview with Archana Chandhok on Zee Tamil, Rajinikanth revealed that director Shankar wanted to make 2.0 without any songs. Plans for recording a title track and a background song failed.[65] The track "Enthira Logathu Sundariye" made its way after taking into account that the screenplay of the film was entirely subject-oriented and moves at a frenetic pace.[66] Keeping audiences in consideration, a "breather" form of a song was recorded. However, Rahman was still not convinced and felt that an album should have a minimum of four songs to provide listeners with a wholesome experience.[67]

In an interview with Press Trust of India, Rahman stated that 2.0 was a tough film to score.[68] Recording of "Endhira Logathu Sundariye" was completed by early August 2017.[69] The song, reported as a romantic number with dance included, was shot indoors in a 12-day schedule in August 2017.[69] Recording of the Hindi version ("Mehanical Sundariye") of the track was completed on October 29, 2017.[70]

A promotional music event for releasing two songs "Endhira Logathu Sundariye" and "Raajali" was held at Burj Al Arab, Dubai on October 27, 2017.[71] Both these tracks were released on digital music platforms the same day. A. R. Rahman and his music team performed these two songs and an additional track "Pullinangal" at the event.[72][73]A symphony of an estimated 125 musicians was present to perform live.[74][75] "Pullinangal"'s Hindi version ("Nanhi Si Jaan") was recorded in June 2018.[76] The track "Pullinangal" was released as a part of the soundtrack album on November 6, 2018. About this, Rahman stated that he initially wanted to release more background themes rather than songs.

Recording of the original score began in London and Rahman's Los Angeles studios in 2016.[67] Unlike previous projects, Rahman began finalizing the original background score six months back prior to release because he felt that the scenes were very heavy and it needed a lot of work.[77]

Marketing and release

In November 2016, it was revealed that 2.0 was scheduled for release during Diwali on 18 October 2017.[78] In April 2017, Raju Mahalingam, the film's former producer, announced that the film's release had been postponed to 25 January 2018 citing better incorporation of visual effects.[79] The release date was later moved to 14 April 2018.[80] The release date was once again moved to 27 April 2018 but instead Kaala took that spot resulting in another delay of the film.[81] The making video of the film was revealed on 25 August 2017.[82] The film, which contains approximately 1,000 visual effects shots according to producers, was delayed numerous times while the computer-generated imagery (CGI) work was being completed by numerous effects studios.[83] The film was finally slated to be released in cinemas on 29 November 2018.[84]

The teaser of 2.0 was released on Ganesh Chaturti, 13 September 2018, in both 3D and 2D.[85] The 3D version was positively received, while some expressed disappointment with the 2D.[86] Its 2D teaser video has been viewed over 32 million times in 24 hours.[87] The film topic was trended and top searched queries on Google Trends for a week.[88] But the teaser did not mention the release date. According to the source, "There may be a lot of VFX work left in the film and they do not want to delay things too much. This is why, the makers Lyca Productions seem to have put out the teaser so that they can keep the audiences busy."[89] In addition to its original language, the film will be released in 14 other languages with dubbed versions.[90][91][92] The film has recovered approximately ₹370 crore (US$51 million) from satellite, digital and music rights.[93] This includes, but is not limited to, about ₹110 crore (US$15 million) for satellite and digital rights and ₹50 crore (US$7.0 million) for digital rights, the latter sold to Amazon Prime Video.[94]

Ahead of the film's release, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) lodged a complaint, demanding that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate of the film be revoked for "promoting anti-scientific attitudes towards mobile phones and cellular networks".[95] The organisation alleged the producers "falsely depicting mobile phones and mobile towers as harmful to living creatures and the environment including birds and human beings".[96][97] Meanwhile, a Lyca Productions spokesperson said, "We are under no obligation to toe the line and the film does not hunt or defames [sic] anyone."[98] Various studies in India have proven that electromagnetic radiation from cell sites has a detrimental effect on bird health.[c]

In China, the film is set to release on 19 May 2019 in 10,000 theatres with 56,000 screenings, which includes 47,000 3D screenings, reportedly the largest release ever for an Indian film in the country,[102] with a Mandarin dub and subtitles.[103]

Reception

Box office

2.0 was released in about 6900 screens in India and over 2000 screens overseas.[104] On its opening day, 2.0 earned about ₹80 crore (US$11 million) gross collection in India (all versions), which was the second highest ever for an Indian film after Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)'s ₹154 crore (US$21 million).[105] This was around ₹64 crore nett.[106] Its worldwide gross was over ₹117.34 crore (US$16 million), which was also the second highest worldwide collection for an Indian film on its first day after Baahubali 2.[107] On its second day, the film went on to be number one at the Australian box office.[108] In Malaysia, the film had an all-time highest opening for any Tamil film.[108] On its second day, the film earned around ₹45 crore nett in India.[106] The all-India business of 2.0 increased to ₹56-57 crore nett on Saturday (the third day) owing to positive word-of-mouth in North India, while the collections in South India saw a minor drop.[109] Its all-India total increased to ₹165.5 crore nett.[109] On its third day, the film earned around ₹290 crore (US$40 million) worldwide in all languages, including ₹85 crore (US$12 million) from overseas markets.[110]

At the American box office, the film surpassed the lifetime business of Rajinikanth's previous film Lingaa (2014) in just two days.[108] The film debuted at number 11 at the American box office, earning $4.09 million.[111] The screen count was increased from 20 to 75 in Pakistan on its second day to meet the demand.[108] 2.0 grossed US$14.75million (₹1.03billion) in first five days in overseas markets.[112] On its fourth day, a Sunday, business picked up over India, which led the film to accumulate an opening weekend collection of around ₹400 crore (US$56 million), the highest amount earned by any film in the week of 29 November to 2 December, ahead of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).[113] Collections in India, discounting overseas, were ₹291 crore (US$40 million) gross (₹229 crore nett) in all languages.[114] This pushed it ahead of Enthiran, which was the previous highest-grossing film from Tamil cinema with an earning of ₹205 crore nett in India.[114][d] In its four-day opening weekend, the film opened at number one at the United Arab Emirates box office, earning $2.5 million, ahead of Creed II (2018).[111]

On its fifth day, the film earned around ₹451 crore (US $56 million) worldwide in all languages, including ₹114 crore (US $16 million) from international markets.[115] In North India, its Hindi version earned around ₹111 crore (US $16 million).[116] Along with the sixth day business of ₹24 crore nett, the film earned ₹282.31 crore nett in India. It did record business in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[117] By the end of seven days, the film earned ₹480 crore (US$67 million) worldwide, which included ₹362 crore (US$50 million) in India and US$15million (₹1.18billion) in overseas markets.[118] The extended first week worldwide collection was ₹520 crore (US$72 million).[119]

Critical response

India

2.0 received generally positive reviews from critics in India.[120][121][122] Shankar's direction, visual effects, performances of Rajinikanth and Kumar, suspense and social message received praise, while the introduction, script, and dialogues drew criticism.[123]Taran Adarsh gave the film five stars out of five and applauded Shankar as "a visionary... He hits the ball out of the park this time. Akshay Kumar is fantastic, while Rajinikanth is the boss".[124] A critic for Bollywood Hungama gave it four and a half stars out of five and similarly commended Shankar, "[His] direction is highly effective and he proves once again why he's one of our best filmmakers. He doesn't get overwhelmed by the technology available and makes correct use of it".[125] S Subhakeerthana of The Indian Express gave it four stars out of five: "Shankar has raised the bar in filmmaking in terms of visualisation, grandeur, and every frame of his fascinates you as a viewer".[126]Business Today's Ramesh Bala gave it four stars out of five, and found Kumar to be the film's spotlight: "He has rocked both as Birdman and as a normal man in an emotional flashback".[127]

Writing for Hindustan Times, Raja Sen rated 2.0 three and a half stars out of five, terming Rajinikanth as "smarter than a smartphone" and counted him and Kumar among the film's strengths.[128] A critic for the Indo-Asian News Service also gave three and a half stars out of five and wrote, "Unlike most science-fiction films, 2.0 takes the commercial route to entertain, thus does come across as illogical at places, but that's what makes it insanely fun".[129] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare also gave three and a half stars out of five.[130] M. Suganth of The Times of India gave it three stars out of five; he stated that there is a sense of "just going through the motions in the first half," but found that the action sequences and chemistry between the leads helped keep the film enjoyable for most of its run-time.[131] Writing for Film Companion, Anupama Chopra also gave the film three stars out of five: "2.0 is visually overpowering – the VFX are mostly first-rate – but the screenplay doesn't offer the seamless mix of romance, drama and comedy [as the predecessor]".[132]

Janani K, film critic for India Today, gave 2.0 three stars out of five and appreciated the film's theme, but felt it could be better presented, writing, "Though it is a much-need message, it could have been explained in an intriguing manner rather than the pedantic treatment it gets".[133]Rajeev Masand also gave it three stars out of five.[134] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film two stars out of five, describing it as "dull as ditchwater in the first half, perking up a little in the second, with a half-way watchable Akshay Kumar, and a Rajinikanth coming into his own right towards the end, for a bit".[135] Pragati Saxena of National Herald concurred with Gupta and criticized the pace and dullness of the film.[136] Writing for CNN-News18, Rohit Vats also rated two stars out of five and criticised the writing, opining, "[Shankar's] characters haven't evolved the way the world around them has".[137] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV also gave two stars out of five and said, "Bunkum is bunkum no matter how big the bucks behind it are".[138]

Overseas

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 2.0 has a 75% approval rating based on 12 reviews and an average rating of 6.5/10.[139] Simon Abrahams of RogerEbert.com gave the film three and a half stars out of four and stated, "Against all reason–against all common sense–2.0 works, and in a big, big way".[140] Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters wrote, "This film certainly has the look and feel of a big-ticket Hollywood production, and that alone is worth the price of the ticket".[141] Kumar Shyam of The National gave it three and a half stars out of five and wrote, "2.0 is a very clever spectacle not to be missed for its sheer audacity and scale".[142] Rafael Motamayor of Polygon wrote, "2.0's biggest draw is its impressive use of visual effects, and the film doesn't waste a moment to showcase its budget". He felt "[t]he effects [were] detailed enough to stand against a $200 million-dollar American blockbuster".[143]

Footnotes

^While NDTV speculates that the team were unwilling to compromise with some of Schwarzenegger's requests for changes to the script,[31] Lyca Productions creative head Raju Mahalingam said "contractual contradictions" were the reason why they did not sign the actor.[32]

1.
S. Shankar
–
Shankar Shanmugam, credited mononymously as Shankar, is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Recognized for directing high budget films, he is also a pioneer of vigilante movies in Tamil. He made his debut in Gentleman produced by K. T. Kunjumon, for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award. He is the highest paid film-maker in India among his contemporaries, two of his films, Indian and Jeans, were submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He was awarded a doctorate by M. G. R. University. Shankar was born on 17 August 1963 in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu to Muthulakshmi and he completed his diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Central Polytechnic College before entering the film industry. He was roped into the industry as a screenwriter by S. A. Chandrasekhar. Wanting to be an actor initially, he chose to be a director instead, Shankar began his career as an assistant to film directors like S. A. Chandrasekhar and Pavithran. His first break in Hindi films was as an assistant director to S. A. Chandrasekhar in Jai Shiv Shankar produced by Rajesh Khanna, in 1993, he made his directional debut through Gentleman. Starring Arjun Sarja in the role, the film was made with a higher budget in Tamil cinema during that time, won positive response. A. R. Rahman, the music composer continued to work with Shankar in his following 6 directorial ventures. His second film Kadhalan, a film was released in the following year, had Prabhu Deva in the lead role. In 1996, he collaborated with Kamal Haasan for Indian and it was dubbed in Hindi as Hindustani. The film was selected as the submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Following Indian, Shankar began work on Jeans, which released in 1998, upon release, it became one of the highest grossing Tamil films of the 1990s. He made his debut through Mudhalvan, was launched with Rajinikanth playing the lead. After the actor cited schedule conflicts, Arjun Sarja joined the project, at the same time, Shankar started to work on his next film which was supposed to be a science fiction film titled Robot, but the project could not move forward due to budgeting problems. Instead, he opted to remake Mudhalvan in Hindi as Nayak and his musical entertainer film Boys was released in 2003, which received mixed response from the critics and audience, prompting it to do only average business

2.
Allirajah Subaskaran
–
His Lyca Productions is based in Chennai, India and began with its first film Kaththi. It is currently producing the science fiction thriller 2.0 and it exists to extend funds to promote means of livelihood for those in need for specific projects on an individual, family or community basis. The Gnanam Foundation is based on the ethos of teach a person to fish, since 2012, The Gnanam Foundation have partnered up with many other organisations including the British Asian Trust, Childrens Hunger Relief and Muslim Aid to donate to a number of worthy causes. In 2015, The Gnanam Foundation set to construct 150 homes in the Vavuniya District of Sri Lanka, in October 2011 Lycatel was ranked 36th in the Sunday Times 250 leading mid-market private companies. Allirajah received a award for Best Overall Enterprise in 2010 at the Asian Achievers Award ceremony for the impact he has made on the Asian community in the UK. The Asian Voice Political and Public Life awarded Allirajah in 2011 its International Entrepreneur of the Year’ award

3.
Rajinikanth
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Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, known by his mononymous stage name Rajinikanth, is an Indian film actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He began acting in plays while working in the Bangalore Transport Service as a bus conductor, in 1973, he joined the Madras Film Institute to pursue a diploma in acting. Following his debut in K. Balachanders Tamil drama Apoorva Raagangal, after earning ₹26 crore for his role in Sivaji, he was the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan at the time. While working in regional film industries of India, Rajinikanth has also appeared in the cinemas of other nations. As of 2014, Rajinikanth has won six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards—four Best Actor Awards, in addition to acting, he has also worked as a producer and screenwriter. Apart from his career, he is also a philanthropist, spiritualist. The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2000, at the 45th International Film Festival of India, he was conferred with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year. Rajinikanth was born on 12 December 1950, in a Marathi family to Ramabai, a housewife, and Ramoji Rao Gaekwad and he was named Shivaji Rao Gaekwad after Chhatrapati Shivaji, a Maratha warrior King, and was brought up speaking Marathi at home and Kannada outside. Rajinikanths ancestors hailed from a village called Mavdi Kade Pathar, in the present-day Pune district and he is the youngest of four siblings in a family consisting of two elder brothers, Satyanarayana Rao & Nageshwara Rao and a sister, Aswath Balubhai. After his fathers retirement from work in 1956, the moved to the suburb of Hanumantha nagar in Bangalore. When he was nine years old, he lost his mother, at the age of six, Rajinikanth was enrolled at the Gavipuram Government Kannada Model Primary School where he had his primary education. As a child, he was studious and mischievous with a great interest in cricket and it was during this time his brother enrolled him at the Ramakrishna Math, a Hindu monastery set up by Ramakrishna Mission. In the math, he was taught Vedas, tradition and history which eventually instilled a sense of spirituality in him, in addition to spiritual lessons, he also began acting in plays at the math. His aspiration towards theatre grew at the math and was given an opportunity to enact the role of Ekalavyas friend from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. His performance in the play received praise from the audience and Kannada poet D. R. Bendre in particular, after sixth grade, Rajinikanth was enrolled at the Acharya Pathasala Public School and studied there till completion of his pre-university course. During his schooling at the Acharya Pathasala, he spent a lot of acting in plays. In one such occasion, he performed villainous role Duryodhana in the play Kurukshetra and he began to take part in stage plays after Kannada playwright Topi Muniappa offered him a chance to act in one of his mythological plays. During the time, he came across an advertisement issued by the newly formed Madras Film Institute which offered acting courses, during his stay at the institute, he was performing in a stage play and got noticed by Tamil film director K. Balachander

4.
Akshay Kumar
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Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia, better known by his stage name Akshay Kumar, is an Indian-born Canadian actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Rustom and he has nominated for Filmfare Awards several times. Later, Kumar also gained fame for his drama, romance, action and his performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi, Dhadkan, Andaaz and Namastey London, as well as drama films such as Waqt, The Race Against Time. His comic performances in films such as Hera Pheri, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Garam Masala, Bhagam Bhag, Bhool Bhulaiyaa. In 2007, he starred in four consecutive commercially successful films, Kumar hit a rough patch since 2009 to 2011 but came back with two successes, Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore with both of them grossing over ₹1 billion. His other films like OMG, Special 26, Holiday and Gabbar Is Back were highly successful critically and commercially, from January 2016 to February 2017, he starred in four Rs 100-crore plus earner in a row with films Airlift, Housefull 3, Rustom and Jolly LLB2. In February 2013, many outlets reported that the net box-office collection of Kumars films had crossed ₹20 billion and he was the first. Box Office India listed Kumar as one of the most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, having done so, he has established himself as a leading contemporary actor of Hindi cinema. Apart from acting, Kumar has also worked as a stunt actor, he has performed many dangerous stunts in his films. In 2008, he hosted the show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi, the next year, he founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company. In 2012, he founded production company called Grazing Goat Pictures. In 2014, Kumar launched TV realty show Dare 2 Dance and he also owns the team Khalsa Warriors in the World Kabaddi League. In 2015, Kumar was ranked 9th in Forbes first global list of actors in the world. In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Kumar in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema, the following year he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. In 2011, The Asian Awards honoured Kumar for his achievement in Cinema. Kumar was born in Amritsar, India to Hari Om Bhatia and his father was a military officer. From a young age, Kumar was recognised as a performer and he lived and grew up in Delhis Chandni Chowk and later he moved to Mumbai where he lived in Koliwada, a Punjabi dominated area. He received his education from Don Bosco School and enrolled in Mumbais Guru Nanak Khalsa College for higher education

5.
Amy Jackson
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Amy Louise Jackson is a British model and actress, who appears in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She began modelling at the age of 16, and went on to win the 2009 Miss Teen World competition, subsequently, Tamil film director A L Vijay cast her as the leading lady of the 2010 Tamil period-drama Madrasapattinam. While continuing to pursue her career in the UK, Jackson worked in India. She had her first Bollywood release in 2012, with the romantic drama Ekk Deewana Tha and she later starred in Prabhudevas Singh Is Bling in 2015, opposite Akshay Kumar. Jackson was born in Isle of Man to British parents, Alan Jackson and she has an elder sister, Alicia Jackson. The family returned to their parents home of Woolton, Liverpool, two years after Jacksons birth so that her father, who works as a producer for BBC Radio Merseyside, could continue his media career. Jackson attended St Edwards College, gaining ten GCSEs, and then went to form to study English language, English literature. After winning the Miss Teen Liverpool and Miss Teen Great Britain pageants, Jackson won eighteen prizes, which included a modelling contract in the US on a $50,000 scholarship. She won Miss Liverpool in 2010 and she competed at Miss England in 2010 and was crowded the runner-up to Jessica Linley. Jackson was contracted by the Boss Model Management in 2009, and she was signed on by the agency Models 1. In 2010 Indian film producers spotted Jackson on the Miss Teen World website, despite having no previous acting experience, she was cast as the female lead opposite Arya. The film, set against the backdrop of 1947 India, tells the story of a British Governor’s daughter who falls in love with a village boy, Jackson admitted that it was very difficult to learn the Tamil dialogues. The film released in July 2010 and was acclaimed by critics, after the film was eventually released on 9 July 2010, it was a critical and commercial success, with Jackson gaining praise for her performance. Sify wrote It is an out and out Amy Jackson show and she is simply amazing to deliver lines in Tamil, and is one good reason to see the film. Behindwoods wrote The one who walks away with the top honours is Amy Jackson for a portrayal of a lady torn between her love and the mighty empire. She looks absolutely beautiful, emotes well through her eyes and is able to earn the sympathy of the audiences during tough times. Rediff wrote Amy Jackson is almost perfect as the young girl who is seeing India for the first time. She received a nomination for the Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress for her role in the film, in 2011, she was signed by Gautham Menon to play the female lead opposite Prateik Babbar in the Hindi remake of the 2010 hit romantic drama film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya

6.
A. R. Rahman
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Allah-Rakha Rahman, is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist. A. R. Rahmans works are noted for integrating Indian classical music with music, world music. Among his awards are two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and he has been awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2010 by the Government of India. In 2009, Rahman on the Time 100 list of the worlds most influential people, the UK-based world-music magazine Songlines named him one of Tomorrows World Music Icons in August 2011. With an in-house studio, Rahmans film-scoring career began during the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja, working in Indias film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the worlds all-time best-selling recording artists. In a notable career, he has been acclaimed for redefining contemporary Indian film music. Rahman has become a humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for a number of causes and charities. Rahmans body of work for film and stage has given him the nickname of the Mozart of Madras, Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a composer and conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films, Rahman assisted his father in the studio. After his fathers death when Rahman was nine years old, the rental of his fathers musical equipment provided his familys income, raised by his mother, Kareema, Rahman was a keyboard player and arranger for bands such as Roots and founded the Chennai-based rock group Nemesis Avenue. He mastered the keyboard, piano, synthesizer, harmonium and guitar, Rahman began his early musical training under Master Dhanraj, and at age 11 began playing in the orchestra of Malayalam composer M. K. Arjunan. Studying in Chennai, Rahman graduated with a diploma in Western classical music from the school, Rahman was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister was seriously ill in 1984. His mother was a practicing Hindu and he converted to Islam with other members of his family in 1989 at age 23, changing his name from R. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman. Rahman initially composed scores for documentaries and jingles for advertisements and Indian television channels, in 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep, composed jingles for a line of watches introduced by Allwyn. He also arranged the jingles for advertisements that went on to become very popular, including the popular jingle for Titan Watches. In 1992, he was approached by director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film, Rahmans film career began in 1992 when he started Panchathan Record Inn, a recording and mixing studio in his backyard. It would become the recording studio in India, and arguably one of Asias most sophisticated. Cinematographer Santosh Sivan signed Rahman for the Malayalam film Yodha, a Mohanlal starrer directed by Sivans brother Sangeeth Sivan that released in September 1992, the following year, Rahman received the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the National Film Awards for Roja

7.
Nirav Shah
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Nirav Shah is an acclaimed Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of box office hits in Hindi. It was, however, the Hindi blockbuster film Dhoom that made people take notice of Shah, winning him accolades and gaining him fame and popularity. He returned to Bollywood to work on the films Banaras and the sequel of Dhoom, for which Shah again won accolades and also received awards and nominations. He was signed up by Prabhu Deva for the Vijay-starrer Pokkiri and he went on to work on the Hindi remake of Pokkiri, Wanted, directed again by Prabhu Deva and A. L. Vijays Madrasapattinam. In July 2009, it was announced that Shah would soon turn film director, directing a film under actor Aryas production, starring Aryas brother Sathya in the lead role. Besides, Shah is currently developing and building Indias biggest film studio, located at the Old Mahabalipuram Road off Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, three of his films have been nominated at the National Award for the Best Cinematographer, Banaras, Pattiyal and Dhoom 2. He won the Tamil Nadu Governments State Award for Best Cinematographer for Billa

Science fiction film (or sci-fi) is a genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that …

Metropolis (1927) by Fritz Lang was one of the first feature length science fiction films in history. It was produced at Studio Babelsberg, Germany. (Photo shows the statue of the film figure Maria at Filmpark Babelsberg)

2001: A Space Odyssey, the landmark 1968 collaboration between filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and classic science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke featured groundbreaking special effects, such as the realization of the space ship Discovery One (pictured here)